Les Bowen

STAFF WRITER

Les Bowen has covered the Eagles since 2002. Before that, he covered the Flyers for 13 years. He came to the Daily News from the Charlotte Observer in May 1983, just as the Sixers were winning the NBA championship. He thought, "Gosh, this sort of thing must happen all the time here."

News of Thursday's Eagles signing of former Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon arrived right around the same time that USA Today reported former Eagles coach Andy Reid would like to see the Chiefs trade for Nick Foles.

As is often the case when apparent serendipity strikes, some folks put these two events together and concluded Foles was on his way out of here, sooner rather than later.

Eagles sources moved quickly Thursday to knock down some of the more outlandish Dixon theories, letting it be known quickly that the 2008 Steelers fifth-rounder and recent Baltimore Ravens practice squad QB is coming here because he was available for nothing and he has history with Chip Kelly's offense. Dixon is hardly in some sort of anything-goes competition to be the Eagles' starter, regardless of what you might have read or heard elsewhere.

Friday, a source close to the situation said the Eagles "haven't even discussed moving Nick," and "want to keep Nick."

Of course, any player is available for the right price. The Associated Press reported the Eagles wouldn't consider moving Foles, a third-round rookie last year, for anything less than a first- or second-rounder. He is unlikely to command that price off his six-start rookie season, which showed promise but resulted in a 1-5 record. The Eagles' surprise one-year reworking of Michael Vick's contract seemed to give Vick the inside track on starting for the Birds this season.

ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay held a conference call Friday in which McShay said nobody in the NFL he has talked to has a first-round grade on any quarterback in the 2013 draft. If that's true, Foles' trade value might go up. But the Eagles would have to be willing to trade him.

Poll

Should the Eagles consider Manti Te'o in the draft?

Hell, yeah! We need a beast at LB.

No way! Too many issues.

Not an option. Dude will be gone in the first round.

***

The Eagles announced the signing of OT Ed Wang, 6-5, 315, a 2010 Buffalo draftee who played last season for the Raiders. Wang's parents were 1984 Chinese Olympians. Though Wang was born in Virginia, he is considered the first full-blooded Chinese-American drafted into the NFL.